Apple was the No. 1 stock recommended to investors by Ticonderoga Securities in 2011, and it holds that title once again at the start of 2012.

Analyst Brian White said in a note to investors on Tuesday that he is comfortable once again recommending AAPL stock to investors at the start of the new year. He noted that Apple was the best performer in the 20 companies covered by Ticonderoga, seeing growth of 26 percent.

"We believe Apple's portfolio in 2012 has the opportunity to create more excitement around the story with our expectation for the unveiling of iTV, a "iPad mini" and a major upgrade with the iPhone 5, while we expect the company to finally come to grips with its surging cash balance and issue its first cash dividend," White wrote.

White has long been an advocate of Apple using its large cash hoard for a "generous cash dividend" or stock repurchase. And he has not been alone in that view, though Apple so far has shown no interest in offering investors a dividend.

Executives at Apple have said they are content to hang on to their cash reserves in order to take advantage of "strategic opportunities." In 2010, the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs dismissed the possibility of a dividend, noting that the company prefers to make big moves.

Regardless, White believes that Apple is a solid choice for investors following a "tough 2011," even as uncertainty looms over where the economy is headed in 2012. He noted that Apple has proven to be more resilient than other technology companies in the face of a recession.

White's glowing outlook for AAPL stock in 2012 was joined on Tuesday by Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray, who said he too sees the company poised for growth in the next year. He sees a redesigned "iPhone 5," a third-generation iPad and a full-fledged Apple television as potential products in a strong 2012.

Summarizing his previous predictions, Munster said he believes Apple's next-generation iPhone will sport a slightly larger screen than the current 3.5-inch size, and he expects it to launch in the late summer or early fall of 2012. His projections also assume that Apple will replace the current iPad 2 with a new third-generation model, though he said the company could expand the product lineup into new price ranges.

Munster has also long believed that Apple plans to build a full-fledged connected television in the near future. Rumors of an Apple television have picked up steam in recent months since it was revealed that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson before he died that he had "cracked" the secret to a simple HDTV.

Nice to have that kind of cash lying around. I was happy to scrap up enough for 7 more shares a couple weeks ago. If ING Direct/Sharebuilder wasn't so dang slow about making your money accessible I could have gotten 8 at 370 instead of 7 at 400

New products aside, this will likely be the year of the dividend. The pressure to pay out will become too great to ignore, and with Steve no longer with us, I suspect the last important holdout against one is also gone. I don't think it will be as high as 3%, but 2% is not impossible and very doable for Apple.

I see we've still got some of the same old stopped clock predictions around here. Keep saying the same thing -- eventually you are bound to be right.

Who is bringing this pressure to the board? Who has the clout (and stupidity) to pressure the Apple board and management team to do anything they don't want?

Look to the large shareholders -- they call the shots on matters such as these in all public companies. In this case, you've got the big institutional investors, in particular, the retirement fund managers, who've been pressing this question for some time. Then look to the index fund managers, who must keep massive amounts of AAPL in their portfolios. Then to top management; they get compensated to a large extent with stock options and grants. Then look to the board members themselves. I suspect the board was deferring to Steve on this issue for many years.

So you might instead consider who is the likely opposition at this point. None who are alive, is my sense of it.

New products aside, this will likely be the year of the dividend. The pressure to pay out will become too great to ignore, and with Steve no longer with us, I suspect the last important holdout against one is also gone. I don't think it will be as high as 3%, but 2% is not impossible and very doable for Apple.

I see we've still got some of the same old stopped clock predictions around here. Keep saying the same thing -- eventually you are bound to be right.

Pet peeve: "AAPL stock" is a redundancy.

My cost basis is $4.40.

Stopped clock?

I was the one who said AAPL would dip below $370. It didn't go quite as low as I thought but anyone who listened to me would have saved a few bucks.

I can sure as hell say that I don't see you putting your cred on the line.

I was the one who said AAPL would dip below $370. It didn't go quite as low as I thought but anyone who listened to me would have saved a few bucks.

I can sure as hell say that I don't see you putting your cred on the line.

I don't predict future stock prices, even for one I've followed for as long as AAPL. That's a fool's errand. We've seen why time and again. Trying to time any stock is a fool's errand, squared. Even the pros get it wrong more often than they get it right. Anyone who takes investing advice from someone posting to a message board deserves whatever they get.

My "cred" if any comes from buying into AAPL nearly 15 years ago and holding steady when others were trying to time the seesaws, almost certainly to their detriment.

I don't predict future stock prices, even for one I've followed for as long as AAPL. That's a fool's errand. We've seen why time and again. Trying to time any stock is a fool's errand, squared. Even the pros get it wrong more often than they get it right. Anyone who takes investing advice from someone posting to a message board deserves whatever they get.

My "cred" if any comes from buying into AAPL nearly 15 years ago and holding steady when others were trying to time the seesaws, almost certainly to their detriment.

Well, you're wrong... it's never been to my detriment. AAPL is one stock that follows charting patterns very very nicely and if you follow Apple's product announcements and quarterly announcements along with the charts then you can keep the same amount of stock while using profits for toys, mortgage payments etc.

... barring complete world economic collapse.

... and, yes, anyone taking advice from someone they don't know on the internet is foolish... but so is buying a stock in an uptrend while negative news is being announced.

Well, you're wrong... it's never been to my detriment. AAPL is one stock that follows charting patterns very very nicely and if you follow Apple's product announcements and quarterly announcements along with the charts then you can keep the same amount of stock while using profits for toys, mortgage payments etc.

... barring complete world economic collapse.

... and, no, anyone taking advice from someone they don't know on the internet is foolish... but so is buying a stock in an uptrend while negative news is being announced.

Pretty much everybody who tries to time stocks thinks they have done great. They don't realize that they have to time tops and bottoms almost perfectly to not have been better off holding through peaks and valleys. A small miss on both ends is typically enough to wipe out any advantage. You'd be doing even worse relatively speaking if you constantly peeled off profits to buy toys.

Pretty much the only advice I give is to be an investor, not a trader. Short terms news is for traders and speculators. Trends are for investors. End of investing advice.

Pretty much everybody who tries to time stocks thinks they have done great. They don't realize that they have to time tops and bottoms almost perfectly to not have been better off holding through peaks and valleys. A small miss on both ends is typically enough to wipe out any advantage. You'd be doing even worse relatively speaking if you constantly peeled off profits to buy toys.

Pretty much the only advice I give is to be an investor, not a trader. Short terms news is for traders and speculators. Trends are for investors. End of investing advice.

What??!!

So you hold 100 shares while I buy and sell 100 shares several times over in a 10 year period.

I still have 100 shares and you still have 100 shares... but I have managed to use profits for purchasing... and yet, somehow, you are further ahead??!

Hmmm... good that you ended your investing advice.

Oh, and btw, AAPL swings enough that you don't even have to time things that closely. On the other hand... most stocks follow the trend you mention, but there are plenty that have a very predictable swing.

So you hold 100 shares while I buy and sell 100 shares several times over in a 10 year period.

I still have 100 shares and you still have 100 shares... but I have managed to use profits for purchasing... and yet, somehow, you are further ahead??!

Hmmm... good that you ended your investing advice.

Oh, and btw, AAPL swings enough that you don't even have to time things that closely. On the other hand... most stocks follow the trend you mention, but there are plenty that have a very predictable swing.

Yes, exactly. You could look it up. Read up on David Swenson among others who have studied market chasing strategies in detail. Even pros who try to chase markets underperform the indexes over time, and individuals tend to get murdered by the big money players who are always going to be steps ahead of them. Those are the grim facts, whether you are aware of them or not.

Everybody wants to think they have the perfect system. I guess that's why casinos and lotteries always seem to have a customers.

Yes, exactly. You could look it up. Read up on David Swenson among others who have studied market chasing strategies in detail. Even pros who try to chase markets underperform the indexes over time, and individuals tend to get murdered by the big money players who are always going to be steps ahead of them. Those are the grim facts, whether you are aware of them or not.

Everybody wants to think they have the perfect system. I guess that's why casinos and lotteries always seem to have a customers.

Your comprehension level is getting lower.

Overall I wouldn't try my method with too many stocks but I have a select few that feed me well.

Guys like you always push the buy and hold method when they are winning (ie AAPL) but just ask the RIMM buyers how they feel about buy and hold.

Nice try, and poor examples. I'd never suggest buying stock in a bad company, let alone holding it forever. Nobody should hold any stock forever. In fact the real lesson is that most investors shouldn't even be buying individual stocks, let alone trying to chase the market. These are prescriptions for failure.

Look up Swenson. You will find that it is your comprehension level that needs some work.

Nice try, and poor examples. I'd never suggest buying stock in a bad company, let alone holding it forever. Nobody should hold any stock forever. In fact the real lesson is that most investors shouldn't even be buying individual stocks, let alone trying to chase the market. These are prescriptions for failure.

Look up Swenson. You will find that it is your comprehension level that needs some work.

Nice try yourself.

Bad company? Are you telling me that you would have said RIM is a bad company in 2004? How about Apple in 1995? How about IBM in 1992?

What you are saying is that nobody in the history of buying stocks has done well buying and selling a particular stock rather than just hanging on to it... or maybe you aren't saying that because it's so damn hard to know what you are saying. You seem to be all over the map.

Buy a stock and hold it. Nope, you said you should never hold it forever... so when should you sell it, when the market is up or when it is down? Neither, because that would be trying to predict the market. Sell stock in a bad company. Nope because you said hold and how can you tell when a company is about to have a down turn... that's predicting the market again.

Keep working on your theories.

... and I don't need Swenson... I know that overall if you jump from one stock to another stock you will do poorly but all big investment houses dump a certain percentage of select stocks to lock in gains and then buy later as the stock declines. Even a couple of bucks here and there can be huge gain for them.

Most investors shouldn't even be buying individual stocks??! Oh boy. I can name at least a dozen stocks for anyone to buy and hold on any given day and know that over a 20 year period they will do much better than any fixed rate funds.

... and, yes, anyone taking advice from someone they don't know on the internet is foolish... but so is buying a stock in an uptrend while negative news is being announced.

Negative news doesn't get announced slowly. You have a stock in an uptrend, and then news is announced. How do you know if it's going to be positive or negative? If you never buy a stock in an uptrend then how have you bought Apple in the last 8 years? You be sure to let us know when the next negative news is going to come out, OK?

Who has the ability to control the behavior of hundreds of millions of individual actors competing for their own best interest?

I should rephrase it: When Apple has posted record revenue and record profits every quarter for the past five years and when they have more money than the US Treasury in assets, what's keeping their stock no higher than it was six months ago?

Quote:

You sound like someone who expects the president to "create" growth in the economy.

So you hold 100 shares while I buy and sell 100 shares several times over in a 10 year period.

I still have 100 shares and you still have 100 shares... but I have managed to use profits for purchasing... and yet, somehow, you are further ahead??!

But what did you do without the money that you also lost on the deals? Oh, you mean you're the only person in the world who never misdiagnosed the market? I have to wonder why someone so smart would be poor enough to not have "people" to post to a message board for him.

I should rephrase it: When Apple has posted record revenue and record profits every quarter for the past five years and when they have more money than the US Treasury in assets, what's keeping their stock no higher than it was six months ago?

All the people who sell it, and the buyers of the stock who aren't buying.

See how easy that was?

Here's what makes a market: people disagreeing about the future of a stock. For every people who thinks it "should" be at $500, there's another who thinks it should be at $300. Unless the former outnumber the latter, the stock will not go up.

Let me rephrase your own question another way - why did Apple's stock rush to $400 so far ahead of itself that it was forced to tread water for the last year?

But what did you do without the money that you also lost on the deals? Oh, you mean you're the only person in the world who never misdiagnosed the market? I have to wonder why someone so smart would be poor enough to not have "people" to post to a message board for him.

Give it up, you're not believable.

Well, that would make you just as believable as me.

I've never lost on AAPL and am well ahead.

Do I gamble with other stocks... sure... have I lost... absolutely. This year I bet on nat gas etf's and then we've had the warmest winter for a long time.

Long term... nat gas will give you $15 in 10 years time for every dollar spent today.

Negative news doesn't get announced slowly. You have a stock in an uptrend, and then news is announced. How do you know if it's going to be positive or negative? If you never buy a stock in an uptrend then how have you bought Apple in the last 8 years? You be sure to let us know when the next negative news is going to come out, OK?

If a stock has had a long uptrend and then negative news comes out, or news that appears negative then that is a signal that there may be a short term or long term downtrend on the way.

Negative news doesn't get announced slowly. You have a stock in an uptrend, and then news is announced. How do you know if it's going to be positive or negative? If you never buy a stock in an uptrend then how have you bought Apple in the last 8 years? You be sure to let us know when the next negative news is going to come out, OK?

Wow, I've learned a lot about investing in the stock market in the last 5 minutes. I never realized we had so many financial experts here. Perhaps someone can explain why the volume of Motorola mobile trades peaked 2 days before the announced takeover by google.

After listening to so many 'experts' over the years, I have decided to only invest in companies that a) I've heard of, b) make products (or services) that people actually buy, and will continue to buy, c) are profitable, and d) are run by people you can trust (or believe). I'm sure I've missed out on several money making opportunities, but I'm not a trader.

Wow, I've learned a lot about investing in the stock market in the last 5 minutes. I never realized we had so many financial experts here.

Quote:

Perhaps someone can explain why the volume of Motorola mobile trades peaked 2 days before the announced takeover by google.

The good Doctor would tell you that the game isn't rigged. I, on the other hand, think otherwise.

Quote:

After listening to so many 'experts' over the years, I have decided to only invest in companies that a) I've heard of, b) make products (or services) that people actually buy, and will continue to buy, c) are profitable, and d) are run by people you can trust (or believe). I'm sure I've missed out on several money making opportunities, but I'm not a trader.

I've made money from companies run by assholes but I've always felt good about Apple, even when the Three Stooges ran the company, and with Steve, no question... but never ever listen to anyone on the internet... especially me.

I've got a 100 shares and you've got a 100 shares. You hold for the year and I'll play my usual game. I'll let you know when I've sold and when I've bought them back.

Let's see how it goes by the end of 2012.

I'm willing to put my cred on the line. What the hell.

The hilarious thing is that you actually think it has something to do with "cred".

You simply can't predict the future. Apple stock goes down EVERY TIME after earnings, everyone knows that. Except the times when it doesn't.

Now, you're going to have to do it a little differently than you posted above. You can't let us know when you've bought and when you've sold, you have to let us know when you're GOING TO BUY and GOING TO SELL. But we all know you won't do it.

If you actually were as good as you say at predicting the future, you simply wouldn't be here, because you'd have a billion dollars. So I don't have to go out on a limb when I say that you are lying about what you do with Apple stock, because it's self evident. If you were telling the truth you'd be too rich to bother saying what you are saying.

The hilarious thing is that you actually think it has something to do with "cred".

You simply can't predict the future. Apple stock goes down EVERY TIME after earnings, everyone knows that. Except the times when it doesn't.

Now, you're going to have to do it a little differently than you posted above. You can't let us know when you've bought and when you've sold, you have to let us know when you're GOING TO BUY and GOING TO SELL. But we all know you won't do it.

If you actually were as good as you say at predicting the future, you simply wouldn't be here, because you'd have a billion dollars. So I don't have to go out on a limb when I say that you are lying about what you do with Apple stock, because it's self evident. If you were telling the truth you'd be too rich to bother saying what you are saying.

What's the bet? You seem very eager to make the chance gone, are you saying you want me to buy 100 shares? I don't have $40,000 to invest without over-allocating my portfolio. Sounded like you were proposing a hypothetical, which I'm totally happy to see. I'll pit 100 shares of Apple (or literally any stock in the world) against an active trader trading that stock. Let's do it, you just tell me where you're going to post your trades before you place them.